Articles

While introducing the basics of Kanban to people, it raises many difficult questions on top level (leadership and management). As Kanban is less dictatorial than Scrum, the type of questions that rises are difficult to answer and one has to trace the questions back to the principles of Kanban.

One of the common arguments against Kanban is that it takes time to create and deliver the final product. Decision making in Kanban is mainly focussed on real data. This is different to what we are used to. Generally in a project plan, a schedule and timing is created by seniors which becomes the deadline for the development team.

From the cost perspective, it is a good approach but from the perspective of value, people get stressed out which affects productivity. So, there needs to be a balance between freedom and control.

In Kanban, the main management tool to keep a balance between freedom and control is to measure flow.  Continuous monitoring of lead and cycle time gives a good idea about the flow of the team. So, team focuses on the average cycle time when starting on a new feature.

This approach is based on real data and not on assumptions. The focus has been created from within the team and not by top management. It leads to effective delivery and high motivation among development team. Now, every team member is responsible for improving the flow, lead and cycle time and reducing gaps.

Kanban believes that the weakest stage in a process flow determines the rate of value creation. Continuous improvement focuses on team members in an organization and creates more opportunities for knowledge sharing and improves process flow. It will change the perception that Kanban takes longer time.

A sustainable pace is always required for the benefit of the team members and better quality end product.  Measuring flow sometimes can lead to micromanagement. Therefore, a mentor must help the team to understand that they must keep a sustainable pace to focus on the process and not on the speed of the development.

Kanban mainly focuses on flow as pushing any step in the flow can disrupt the rest. Optimization of flow guarantees a continuous improvement and pace.

Kanban tools are essential for visualizing and managing workflows in various industries, especially in Agile and Lean project management. These tools use visual boards with cards and columns to represent tasks and their stages, helping teams track progress, identify bottlenecks, and optimize processes. By offering real-time visibility and promoting collaboration, Kanban tools enable teams to deliver higher-quality work more consistently and efficiently.

Summary

Kanban emphasises on measuring flow rather that setting targets for team members. In this approach every phase in the process is important. Efficiency can be achieved only by keeping the process under control, reducing constraints and bottlenecks and optimizing the flow. This is what is important to the end users. They want the order to be delivered.